Page 11 of Natural Deception

That's Zach.

When he notices me, his grin morphs from joyful to...something else. He talks to his buddies briefly, then starts walking toward me.

I experience a powerful urge to turn and run away, but that would be childish. Instead, I wait and smile patiently as he approaches me. "Congratulations on winning the pinball game, Zach."

"Thanks." He leans toward me just a little and lowers his voice to a husky whisper. "I found a book in the gift shop that's all about sexy games adults can play in private."

Oh, shit. He still thinks I want him to seduce me. I should've been firmer about rebuffing his advances after that kiss earlier. Time to break his little heart. Well, it's more like shattering his horny plans. "That's nice, Zach, but I'm not interested. You are a sweet kid, and I'd love for us to be friends, but that's all. I'm not attracted to you."

He sighs, and his shoulders sag. "Yeah, I figured. Had to give it one last try, though. I hope I didn't offend you."

"Don't worry about it." I pat his arm. "There are lots of single women here. You won't have any trouble getting dates."

"If you change your mind, I'm ready and waiting."

Zach wanders away.

Never in my life have I been pursued by a younger man, or by a man my own age---with one exception. Craig had pursued me in the sweetest, most charming way when we met back in our college days. I fell for him so fast and so hard that I was sure we'd spend the rest of our lives together like a fairy-tale couple. It must've been true love, that's what I believed back then. But since then, I've learned fairy tales are for children and soul mates are a myth.

I wouldn't be divorced if such things did exist.

The game room doesn't seem enticing, so I start to head for the dining hall. But I halt at the door. My tummy grumbles, telling me I should ignore my silly hang-up about early-bird specials. This is an adults-only naturist resort. People who want to be buck naked for two whole weeks won't care when I choose to have dinner. Now that I've shaken off my phobia, I waltz into the dining hall.

Only a few people are here. Mostly couples. Not seniors, but definitely not the Gen Z set either. I'll be eating alone while everybody else has a special someone with them.

"You got hungry early too, huh?"

My stomach crashes to the floor, figuratively speaking, because that's my ex-husband's voice I hear behind me. I shuffle around to face him. "Hi, Craig. Did your date abandon you?"

"Date? I don't have one of those."

"But I saw you flirting with a hot young woman in the gift shop. She seems very into you."

He grins. "Are you jealous? That's cute. I talked to a girl, but I was only being polite. You must have been stalking me to know where I've been. But you spent the day with a hot young man, so we're even. At least I didn't kiss that girl."

"I wish I hadn't kissed Zach. He's a sweet kid, but I'm not interested in a May-December romance."

Craig stares at me. "You aren't hooking up with him?"

"No, of course not." I lift my brows. "Since when do you say 'hooking up'? We're both too old to adopt slang our kids might use."

He grimaces. "Yeah, we are."

I turn halfway toward the tables, eying those couples. Though I don't want to give him false hope that we'll get back together, I don't want to eat alone either. So, I concede this one battle. "Would you like to share a table with me? We both might feel less pathetic if we don't eat alone."

"Sure, let's do that. We might be the oldest people at this resort."

"Oh, no. I saw a couple who must be in their sixties, maybe even their seventies."

He wipes a hand across his forehead. "Whew. I don't need to ask for the senior discount after all."

"No one would mistake you for a senior citizen."

We don't need to worry about losing our table since hardly anyone is here yet, so we go straight to the buffet and load up our plates. Then we sit down and dig in. The silence is rather awkward, but I'm too hungry to care. By the time we finish eating, more people have started to arrive, though most of them grab snacks rather than meals. Craig and I walk out of the dining hall together, but we stop a little ways down the corridor.

I can tell he's anxious about something. "Spit it out, Craig. I know what it means when you scratch your elbow and your nose. Just tell me whatever it is."

"What? I had no idea I had a tell."

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